Mitch, who was our camping mate on Twelve Mile Island and our tour guide for Louisville, had volunteered to help us with transportation this year. Usually, when we meet people on the river, we do not see them again. Mitch was an exception, as were Tom and Sherry upriver and Brian, whom we had yet to meet downriver. We have stayed in touch with Mitch via Facebook and asked if he could help us with transportation this year. His schedule allowed him to help.
I found another new friend via the Perry County Parks and Recreation Department. When we landed in Rome, Indiana, last year, we were in Perry County. Last week I went searching for ways to connect to see if it would be possible for us to camp right there at a county park on the river. After an email and a phone call, I connected with Greg Hendershot, the director of the Parks and Recreation Department. When he learned that we were asking to camp on the county park land, he decided to be certain it was ok with the county attorney before giving us permission. I held my breath when he told me on the phone that he had asked the attorney because I figured the answer would be no. But he said YES! It may sound mushy, but when people are that nice to us, I find tears coming to my eyes!
He shared with me where to pitch the tent. And he said he would watch after Karen’s van which we could leave right there at the park. And finally he told me about Hawk, a man who lives near by and rents out camping sites. He told me that Hawk might pay us a visit. I sure hope we get to meet Hawk and Greg. It is the people we meet on the river that we enjoy the most…maybe because after hours of paddling just with each other we are happy to see another face and hear some interesting stories. But even more…the occasional new friend we meet along the way is always a gift of grace in some way. And sometimes a gift comes with water, or a hot shower, or other simple kindnesses. In what often feels like a mean world, these encounters remind us that humans are humans and we can care for each other.
The day went very smoothly. Karen’s drive to Cincinnati and my flight to Cincinnati were easy, and we happily met at the airport. From there we had another three hours or so to get to Rome Indiana where we got out of the river last year. We stopped across the river from Louisville in New Albany and found a burger place for dinner. The rest of the drive brought a heavy downpour that had mostly stopped by the time we pulled into the park in Rome.
We had received permission previously to camp there but were uncharacteristically daunted by the large family party going on with music, beer, horseshoes, etc. We felt like we were crashing a party that might go on all night and weren’t sure how to proceed. We sat in the car for a bit wondering if we were brave enough to get out and see if we could still camp there. Our hesitation was quickly overcome by the approach of the guest of honor from the party. Noah was being feted for his retirement from coal mining. And he quickly said: “I know who you are! You are those ladies paddling down the river.” We were fast friends. Before long we were offered a covered shelter with electricity and met Hawk and Tim as well. All we can say is that we continue to stand in awe of the grace and hospitality we receive along the way. For those who worry about us….this hospitality is what we live for and what keeps us going. We tucked in for the night, to hide out from the skeeters.
May 21 River mile 701-727 After a somewhat sleepless and raining night under the shelter in Rome, Indiana, we headed out onto the river around 7:15. We had a wonderful day on the river in spite of a rainstorm and some pretty strong headwinds at times. We had to get off the river at one point, and we took shelter under a gazebo where we met Zach, a teacher from Evansville, who let us use the bathroom. We had to stop again around 4 pm in Cannelton. We needed a break from the wind. It is a lovely town with a cute park and an old cotton mill, reflecting the history of the river. We saw some great wildlife including a bald eagle and turtles, heron and vultures. But the very best part of the day was meeting people who were, as usual, very helpful. One couple found us a place to stay down the river in Tell City, Indiana. Yes, named after William Tell as there were many Swiss immigrants in the area. So right now we’re sleeping in a tent outside a block building right inside the flood walls of tile city. And we have cold running water and a toilet and electricity which is always appreciated beyond words. We ate the the Pour Pub Haus and tried different kinds of local brewed beer. One of the waiters, Flynn, was kind enough to invite us to stay at his family’s home but we were ok with our arrangements so we declined. We expect to be sore tomorrow morning as we paddled 26 miles today which was a lot for a first day going against the headwinds.
May 22 River mile 727-757.5 We left this morning atound 6:30 from our site at a new friend’s rv garage. We loaded ourselves up and walked through the flood gates where we met a woman who took our photo and applauded our efforts. The waters were calm as we left but started to pick up early. We aimed to do another 11 miles in 3 hours! We stopped to eat our breakfast in Troy at 7:30. At 10 am we stopped for a snack in Lewisport, KY. We had paddled 12 miles by 10 am! There continued to be good current and little wind so we had completed 20 miles by noon when we stopped in Rockport, IN, a little town where we walked to get ice cream and coffee and some fresh fruit at the grocery store.
As usual we have met some wonderful people along the river and have had interesting conversations. We talked to one fisherman, an old guy, who had lived all of his life in Rockport and he told us about how they used to get the shells off the bottom of the river and use them to make buttons in the factories in Rockport. One man we spoke with yesterday said that everyone has a story. We have certainly discovered that to be true as we talk to people along the river. Today because we pushed on a little farther it was getting later into the afternoon and evening before we found a place to stay. We were starting to head across the river from Owensboro, Kentucky, when we saw what looked like a little marina on our side of the river. We decided to take the chance and paddle down and discovered a yet-to-be-open-for-the-season club and a bunch of guys enjoying the late afternoon together. We learned that we had landed at the Redneck Boat Club. Their description, not ours. In talking to Billy Joe, one of the guys at the boat club, we learned his definition of redneck. For him a redneck is the opposite of a gentleman. This definition we had never heard. They all appeared to be gentlemen and most of them went home and we felt very safe in our temporary home. Mid day we stopped to celebrate completing 1000 miles since 2001. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, we made a short video.Towards the end of the day, we paddled a pretty inner passage between Yellow Bank Island and the riverbank. It was a bit over two miles long. We completed a little over 30 miles on the river that day. That’s second to the most number of miles that we have done on the river in one day.
May 23 River mile 757.5-791.5 We left Red Neck Yacht Club at 7:35 am. We found another inner passage to paddle next to Little Hurricane Island where we took our breakfast in the canoe. We saw another water snake on that stop. The more south we paddle, the more we see snakes which determines that we will never swim in the river again! We took a midday break at French Island Marina and picked up ice and used the bathrooms. The folks there told us about the USACE and how they decide to change water levels. One of them told us that “soon they’ll drop the shit out of it,” explaining that the current would be great then.
There was another peaceful stretch of water on the passage between French Island and the riverbank. We went through the Newburgh Lock and dam at mile 776.1 around noon in record time. Just 8 minutes. The drop was much less than on some of the other locks. After the lock we stopped at the old lock house for a break. It had been turned into an event venue and it appeared a wake was going on. When we left we saw yet another snake.
We made it to Evansville, IN, and a marina where we camped next to a storage container, thanks to hosts Katie and Oliver. We paddled into a marina and we were able to pull our canoe up onto their docks under cover. They allowed us to use their bathrooms, including a shower which was a wonderful gift. And then we set up our tent up on the grassy knoll behind the metal shipping container. We found dinner at the marina restaurant called Tiki Time where we had a waiter from Venezuela named Alejandro. 34 miles completed today.
About 4 AM the rain started and continued into the morning.
May 24 River mile 791.5 We were surprised early this morning to find a friend of a friend in the driveway of the marina. My friend Karen Lipinczyk from Jamestown days had been the pastor of a church in Evansville for a while and had a friend Gary with whom she connected us. I had talked to Gary on the phone the night before but did not expect to see him at our campsite this morning!
He offered to take us into Evansville and treat us to breakfast. We ate at Penny Lane Café and then Gary drove us to the visitor center, which is in a building shaped like a pagoda. We went up on the roof and looked at the views of the Ohio River. Then we met another couple from Texas and visited with them for a while. Gary then took us over to the Evansville stadium which is also the stadium that was used for filming A League of Their Own. By the time we had driven around Evansville and made the stops it was time for lunch, so we went to a local German restaurant. Gary returned us to our campsite, and we spent the next couple of hours learning about and touring the LST 135 which is permanently docked next to where we were camping. We learned about this interesting World War II vessel and the history of Evansville in the making of hundreds of LSTs.
Since much of the tour of the boat was outside, we were cold and wet by the time we were done and decided that wisdom demanded we spend the night in a warm hotel. The tour guide from the ship and his wife volunteered to drive us from the ship over to the hotel in downtown Evansville, where we hunkered down for the evening with our laundry and wet camp gear draped all over the place. Last year we took a break from the river in the middle of the week because it was really hot. This year we found ourselves taking a break in the middle of the week because it was cold and rainy.
May 25 River mile 791.5-818 It was hard to leave our warm and dry hotel room to head back on the river. The forecast was for winds up to 14 miles an hour. But once we were up we had our gear packed in no time and a hotel shuttle returned us to the marina. We took down the wet tent that we had left the night before, chatted with our host, Katie, and learned that her father had dug out the marina 54 years ago. All in the family. She graciously agreed to take photos of us as we headed out. The day quickly became one of our favorites. The current helped against the wind and the wind itself was not too difficult. We were on the river at about 8:50. We paddled a total of 26 miles, many more than we had hoped to go.
The day brought some other pleasant and interesting surprises. A big fish jumped over the boat right on Karen’s lap. The wind was at our back enough to sail for almost two miles, and we were treated to some cookies and scones by the woman who owns The Cake Stand in Henderson, KY. The day ended with the discovery of a cute island campsite. We looked forward to a campfire and s’mores as well as cooking a hot dinner with the turnips and beets we had bought a couple of days earlier from an organic farmer who pulled them right out of the soil for us. We were disappointed to discover that the lighter had gotten wet and would not work. Karen did have a magnesium striking stone with her and amazingly was able, after a couple of attempts, to keep a small fire going. We built it up and enjoyed all of the above including not one but two s’mores. We felt we had earned them! A beautiful sunset was the icing on the cake. We found this perfect campsite thanks to the tugboat captain who warned us from his boat that he would be passing back and forth and we should stay away from his side of the river. This steered us out around the small island where we found the site.
We headed back to the canoe. An older woman stopped us and said she was down at the river with her almost 92-year-old mother and the mother was interested in our story. So we decided to go up and tell them both what we have been up to. The mother thanked us for telling our story and wished us “a good journey.”
We were both struck by her use of these words. Usually when we tell people about our trips, we get varied responses. Sometimes people say “have a safe journey.” Sometimes people say “be safe.” Sometimes people say “that sounds like such fun.” Sometimes people say “I don’t think I could ever do that.” But June used different and distinct words. She said “have a good journey.” It struck me that because she was almost 92 she had a good sense of life’s journeys and she didn’t have to worry about us or warn us to stay safe. She just wanted us to have a good journey. And that is exactly what we are having.
May 26 River mile 818-842.5 Our last day on the river for 2017. We have had a great week. Because we were in Evansville during the worst weather day, we were able to enjoy an accidentally well-timed break as described earlier. We thought that was the end of weather delays. Just when the weather forecast suggested that we would have calm waters on Friday, it changed according to the finicky nature of weather along the Ohio River. It promised in the morning to kick up a good wind of up to 16 miles an hour by mid morning. Unfortunately, it did not disappoint us. Fortunately, the current was still flowing well as they have been releasing water from the dams upriver to control the water from spring rains. If we had not had the current on Friday, we would have quit early in the day as we had to a few years ago.
We persevered against wind and saw that we were making good progress, though slower than previous days. It was still hard. Karen steers the boat and feels the winds challenges more than I. I just keep paddling and she calls out for me to change sides as the wind pushes the stern this way for that. It is mentally exhausting as well as physically exhausting. And having wind constantly in one’s face just gets annoying after a few hours!
So we were happy to discover a narrow channel between the shore of an island and the banks of the river. It was calm in there and we hoped to rest for a few hours on the shore. However, the banks of that slower water were so muddy that we couldn’t get out of the canoe. I tried a couple of times, once sinking in to above my ankles and wondering if my shoes would come out with my feet…or if my feet would even come out! So, we just pulled close to shore, ate some food, laid back on our reclined canoe seats and waited. The wind was not going to abate. I could not imagine sitting in the channel in the canoe for the 4-6 hours it might take for the wind to lessen. And the bugs, which eat me while ignoring Karen, were annoying. I insisted that we try to make a go of it, slow and easy.
We paddled out of the channel and were hit with the wind again. It was ok for a while because we were still moving, but the waves got higher and higher. One or two of them brought images of “The Perfect Storm” to mind as I, sitting in the bow, saw the water come over and then the bow plunge into the next valley of a 2-3 foot wave. I was quick to say, “we are heading to shore and getting on shore one way or the other!”
Thankfully, we were able to get to an area that was still muddy but not impossible. The flies started biting, the wind was still kicking, and the sun was high and hot, so we decided to pitch our tent and hole up there until we felt confident we could manage another five miles to Uniontown, KY. We napped, watched the river pass by, checking they weather report, looked at maps, pretended we were in a sweat lodge, and eventually decided the wind had died enough to head out again.
The wind had abated some but it was still strong. The huge waves were gone but the gustiness of it was still very irritating, so those last five miles on the river were the least enjoyable and we had little hope from the map that Uniontown would provide much of a camping experience for us. There was a ramp and that was all we knew.
Little did we know as we paddled those last hard miles that the sweetest hospitality still awaited us. We pulled into the lagoon behind the ramp, saw one of the many herons we see along the way, and landed on a beach of little note seeing nothing but a barge loading dock and the omnipresent flood dike between us and we knew not what. Within moments, we had a new friend and guardian angel, Brian. He pulled up in his black truck and asked where we were coming from. Long story, short, he drove us up into town and left us at Hannah’s Place, the local restaurant.
By the time Mitch picked us up the next day, we had spent about six hours in total at Hannah’s, meeting all shifts of waitstaff! That evening we washed up in the restroom and got dinner and then learned that Brian had already paid for our meal. Several times in the next twelve hours, he checked in on us, alerted the local police officer that we were camping on the lagoon (Police Officer Jeffrey was also at the restaurant later so we got to meet him as well!), and when we were packing up to be ready for Mitch to fetch us and take us back to Rome, Indiana, Brian stopped one more time and said he had a gift for us each and presented us each with a small Indian arrowhead to remember our stay there. He grew up there and has wandered the fields looking for arrowheads for years. What a sweet reminder of what turned out to be one of our best overnight stays.
We had arrived weary and ready to end our trip. We left energized, cared for, and grateful, once again, for the surprises and the kind people we have met on our journey.
An excellent and exciting week ended as it began. Karen and I arrived that evening at the airport hotel in Cincinnati. We enjoyed hot showers, one in the evening and one in the morning to try to get the river mud off our feet. And we took a quick cold dip in the outdoor pool. We spent some time looking over the river maps for next year. Having completed 147 miles this week, our plan was to complete all but about 8 miles of the Ohio River next spring. In looking at the maps, we saw that the fleeting of barges appeared to be getting more intense as we approached the Mississippi River. That made sense. We ran into some of that reality on Friday. It makes for a less glamorous paddle, but it is all part of the journey on one of the largest arteries of the nation.
We are confident that we can do at least 130 miles next spring. That will leave us a final 8 miles to do in the fall when we hope to return with some friends and family to celebrate our accomplishment, our friendship of 25 years, and the connection we have felt with all who have “Paddled with Us” these past years.
So, Karen pulled out of the hotel parking lot with Wonder on top of her car just as she approached the airport a week ago. That trusty canoe has traveled more miles on top of her car than on the water. “Wonder” doesn’t seem to complain about that but I believe that she is quite happy and content as her stern hits the waters of the Ohio, just as Karen and I are quite happy and content. Call it projection, if you want, but our canoe has taken on a life of her own.
It is bittersweet to think of finishing this trek of almost two decades next year. But we tempered those feelings this morning by waking to a discussion about which water adventure will continue to bring us together at least once a year. The answer for today, though it may change, is to set out eyes upon the headwaters of the Susquehanna River in Otsego Lake (aka Glimmerglass) in Cooperstown, NY, and see how far we could go there. It would be a different trip as the waters are wilder and we would have to portage some or all of the dams. We will see. But lest the Ohio get jealous that we are already turning our sights to other rivers, let her know that we will never forget the beauty, the challenges, and mostly the wonderful people we have met along its 981 miles of muddy, twisting waters.
We still like to add new equipment to our gear and this was the year that Karen bought us bent handle paddles. They are supposed to push us along faster but we are not sure that we could actually tell the difference.
Paddle With Us 